The more interactions we are allowed in the nursing program and the more skills we develop has truly shown me the importance of understanding the different stages of human development in providing care in the most appropriate manner given the age of a client. For the purposes of this post and blog I thought I would share some of the neurological, cognitive, language, emotional, social and self/gender/identity developments of children from birth to approximately 15 years of age. Understanding the developments that are associated with each age group are a beneficial tool to parenting; I have caught myself on several occasions expecting Trayton to know he can't touch the stove when it's cooking because its hot, although I've explained it several times or understand a concept that is beyond his developmental capabilities given his age. I have to remind myself not to assume or expect that he knows things that are or may be beyond his stage of development, even though he seems like such a little grown up person, learning new things daily!
Here is a chart of development for various ages from adapted from my Developmental Psychology class and
Human Development, 11th ed. by Diane E. Papalia, Sally Wendkos Olds, and Ruth Duskin Feldman.
Wishing you a pot o' gold, and all the joy your heart can hold. Thanks for reading!
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